Oregon Historic Landmarks: Willamette Valley — John Shaqi
Oregon Historic Landmarks: Willamette ValleyDaughters of the American Revolution. Oregon Society
History
Oregon Historic Landmarks: Willamette Valley
Daughters of the American Revolution. Oregon Society
Historic sites -- Oregon
[Illustration: Boychuk Studio]
The early-day house of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Condon stands at 1268 Jackson
Street near 13th Avenue West. The home, built in the late seventies,
originally stood at the Southwest corner of 11th and High Streets and
was purchased by the Condons in 1882. It is a two-story house of wood
construction with approximately ten rooms, which include a parlor and a
charming living room with an old brick fireplace and plank walls, 2×10
and 2×12, set vertically. In earlier days a low white railing gracefully
decorated the top of the house, which had a mansard roof, the latter
also having been used in early University of Oregon buildings.
On its original site, the house stood on one half of what is now a city
block and was not surrounded by any other buildings. The Condons planted
many fine shrubs and trees, some of which are still standing at this
home’s former location. In 1907, Dr. Condon passed away, and after a
time the home was moved to its present location by Elwin McCornack of
Eugene, a grandson.
Thomas Condon, pioneer Geologist of Oregon, was born in Southern Ireland
in 1822 of Norman Irish stock, and the name is prominent in Ireland’s
history, especially from the eleventh through the seventeenth centuries.
When young Thomas was eleven years old, his family moved to America, and
their first home was in the wilderness which is now Central Park, near
the site of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Here as a boy he began the study of nature and the flora and fauna of
that region. After completing his education, he spent several years in
teaching and later completed a course in Auburn Theological Seminary in
1852. A few months later, he married Miss Cornelia Holt, a young teacher
of New England ancestry, whose home was near Buffalo, New York. The
young couple decided to go to the Oregon Country as missionaries, the
Home Missionary Board of the Congregational Church having accepted them
for this important endeavor.
After a long voyage around Cape Horn and up the West Coast, they arrived
in Portland, Oregon, and from there went to St. Helens and later to
Albany. After a time the Condons decided to move to The Dalles. Here
they established a church which was open to any denomination and to all
kinds of people in all walks of life. Many of the latter, inspired by
Dr. Condon’s avid interest in science, assisted him in collecting
geological data and specimens. Too, at times he accompanied the U. S.
Cavalry of old Fort Dalles, on field expeditions into the John Day
region. Here he collected “fossil” material and other data of the utmost
importance in the field of geology and palaeontology, and in turn
exchanged this valuable information with the Smithsonian Institute.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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